The present invention relates generally to data processing systems. More particularly, it relates to a control mechanism for a graphical user interface.
It has long been an objective of the designers of computer systems to make their systems more accessible, or "user friendly", to a diverse group of users. Heretofore, this group of users possessed a sufficient desire or need to learn and adapt their behavior to a user interface.
While the Internet as a cultural phenomenon has raised the awareness to the tremendous information available to computer users, the largest segment of the public has yet to learn how to access these resources. Such consumers are either unmotivated, unable or too fearful to acquire the needed skills to access the Internet by conventional computer interfaces. Also, the cost of a conventional system is too high a hurdle for many. The need for low cost data processing systems which are simple to operate is being addressed to some extent by "WebTV" and similar systems. These systems are collectively known as Internet appliances.
The intended audience of the Internet appliance is such that it is expected that prior techniques for using computer interfaces would be unacceptable. Many of these consumers do not like the idea of owning a computer. The goal is to make interface as intuitive and nontechnical as possible. Preferably, the user is unaware that the interface is presented by a computer at all.
One of the problems associated with a normal user interface is that user may be unaware of the options available to him if certain portions of the interface are activated. This problem is traditionally dealt with by help programs or documentation online which must be manually called by the user. However, the novice user is fearful of pressing buttons and activating such features because it may send a computer into an unknown and possibly unrecoverable state. Therefore, the challenge is to inform the user of the possibilities within the interface and how to take advantage of those options, yet without requiring the user to enter any sort of help state or mode.
The present invention described below describes one solution to this problem.